Crashing
by estamilagro
Summary: TWO new chapters uploaded! The Carby ending (for Carbies!) and a Luby ending (for Lubies!) Fun for almost EVERYONE!
1. Default Chapter

Crashing  
  
(Authors note…hey there. This is a Carby, but it starts out kinda Luby, so bear with me. Also, the whole Luka things MAY be a spoiler, my sources are so-so, but the Carby part better be true! Anyways, rock on and enjoy!)  
  
"Abby? Are you awake?" Luka Kovac whispered into Abby Lockhart's ear. She had spent the night again because of Brian, her crazed neighbor and this time, Luka let her have the bed.  
  
"Abby? Wake up…" he soothed. Inside her head, Abby thought she was going to die of laughter. Usually Luka had come sort of weird face on whenever he tried to wake her up. It was almost a joke they had.  
  
Luka gently shook her. Keeping her eyes closed tight, Abby rolled over in the large bed. "Oh, I know you're awake now," he chucked.  
  
Instead of whispering, this time, Luka shouted right in her ear, "Wake up!"  
  
Abby bolted up in shock, "Why'd ya do that?!"  
  
A goofy smile appeared on the doctor's face," I'm taking you to breakfast. Get up. I don't think they like it when you show up in your pajamas."  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm up," she groaned, getting out from between the warm sheets, "Just where are we going anyway?"  
  
"Denny's."  
  
"Denny's? Isn't that where stoners go?"  
  
"Would you prefer a bar?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Then we're going to Denny's."  
  
Abby walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Looking into the mirror, she realized that she was technically going on a date with him. But Denny's? For breakfast? She laughed at the thought. Luka had a long way to go before understanding Americans.  
  
Seated in his sleek, black sports car, all Abby could do was smile. Lately, being around him wasn't awkward or strange; it was actually enjoyable, as if they could be friends again. No more Nicole, and Carter busy with his parent's, everything was in the right place.  
  
"So, what do you think?"  
  
"About what?" she asked, startled.  
  
"About the car. You never got to ride in it."  
  
"It's really nice. I didn't think you'd buy something this nice."  
  
"That's what everybody thinks."  
  
He continued to drive and Abby continued to think. Maybe they should get back together. She really could see him marrying him. But, if Susan was right and Carter was "stuck on her" it would piss him off.  
  
But this was her life. If she wanted to be with Luka, she would be with Luka. She did like Carter, though. He was thoughtful, handsome, was already her friend, and it sure helped that he was rich. And, with the news that Carter and Susan had broken up, things could be promising.  
  
Yet there was Luka. He was showing more and more interest in her and as she had thought earlier, she could see herself marrying him.  
  
Abby looked up just as a motorcycle came flashing towards them. She screamed, "Luka! Watch out!" before everything went black.  
  
"What do we got?" John Carter called out as he ran into the ambulance bay.  
  
The paramedic yelled, "John and Jane Doe, MVA, car vs. motorcycle, both unconscious. John Doe has a scalp lac, possible concussion, and collapsed rib cage. Jane Doe has internal injuries."  
  
"What about the motorcyclist?"  
  
"DOA. Station 45 took him to Mercy. One of them said these two worked here."  
  
"Okay, thanks!"  
  
Carter and Kerry took Jane Doe into trauma two while Susan and Gallant had John Doe in trauma one. As Kerry checked for internal bleeding, Carter started to brush away the hair from the woman's face. He realized it was Abby.  
  
"Abby!"  
  
"Is she here?" asked Kerry, not looking up from the ultrasound.  
  
"Yes! Right here!"  
  
Kerry's head snapped up in alert, "Abby? Abby, if you can hear us, this is Dr. Weaver. You're at County. Everything is gonna be alright."  
  
"Wait, if this is Abby, then John Doe must be Luka…."  
  
"Go tell Susan and Gallant."  
  
"What about Abby?"  
  
"Her abdomen appears to be fine. I'm going to send her up for a C-T. Go tell Susan."  
  
Carter ran into trauma one just as Susan was screaming at Haleh to charge the fibrillators to 300.  
  
"Susan! Do you know who this is?"  
  
"Clear!" turning back to him, she answered, "Yes, it's John Doe."  
  
"No! It's Luka! We have Abby in trauma two."  
  
"Is she okay?"  
  
"We have a heartbeat," interrupted Haleh.  
  
"Thanks. Is Abby okay?"  
  
"Everything is fine. I'm gonna go up to radiology to check on her. You guys okay?"  
  
"Now that he's not in de-fib, yeah, everything's peachy."  
  
"Good," Carter nodded as he bolted out of trauma one to get on the elevator with Chuny, "I can take this."  
  
"Okay," shrugged the nurse.  
  
As soon as she left, Carter closed the door and whispered to Abby, "Everything's gonna be all right. I'm here now."  
  
The room was a blur, but soon the harsh lights forced her to focus. It wasn't long before Abby realized she was in a hospital room.  
  
"What happened?" she tried to say, but to her surprise, someone had intubated her.  
  
"Shh…don't speak," assured Carter, "I'll tell you what happened."  
  
She pointed to her throat.  
  
"Do you want me to take that out?"  
  
Abby nodded.  
  
"Okay, you know the drill."  
  
He quickly pulled out the tube and Abby started whispering rapidly, "What happened? Is Luka okay? What happened?"  
  
Placing his finger on her mouth, he said, "You and Luka were in a car accident. You're okay; all you have is a broken arm. Luka was hurt pretty badly."  
  
"How?"  
  
"He had a concussion and, now, he's in a coma."  
  
Abby gasped. Her mind immediately thought the worst. Luka could die, or be a vegetable for the rest of his life. The man that, only an hour or so earlier she thought she might marry, could die. And all because he wanted to take her to breakfast.  
  
"Can I see him?"  
  
"In a little while. They're still observing you."  
  
"Okay," she murmured, still not believing him. He had to be okay. This had to be some sort of joke. It had to be. 


	2. A Kiss Will Wake Him Up/Luby Ending

A Kiss Will Wake Him Up  
  
(Authors note! This is the Luby ending. I couldn't figure out a way to make the Carbies happy without severely pissing off the Lubies and vice versa. So, I'm making a Carby ending and a Luby ending. Enjoy and rock on!)  
  
Abby Lockhart ran her fingers over the coarse material of her cast and glanced up at Luka Kovac. The doctors had taken him off the ventilator only days earlier and nothing had happened. She knew he could survive, but there was still the chance he would not.  
  
She felt sorry for the times where she used him, lied to him, didn't love him. Inside, Abby didn't know what to feel. Part of her loved Carter and the other loved Luka. If Luka didn't live, she could always turn to Carter, but if he did live, then whom would she choose?  
  
"You okay?"  
  
Carter was standing behind her as Abby spun around, "Oh, I'm fine. Anything new on Luka?"  
  
"Nope. Are you sure you're okay? You look awful."  
  
"Maybe I should get some sleep."  
  
"I know. I'll take you home and you can sleep in one of the guest rooms. Tomorrow, I'll bring you back and I'm sure Luka' ll be fine."  
  
"Thanks, John."  
  
"Don't mention it."  
  
Driving home was both awkward and refreshing for John Carter. He loved Abby, and wanted to tell her how he felt, but it wasn't the right time.  
  
It never seemed to be the right time. When she helped him through AA meetings, he wanted to tell her, but she was with Luka. Even after they broke up, John couldn't tell her because she did love Luka.  
  
"Carter?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can we go back to the hospital?"  
  
"Abby, we're almost to my house. You need some sleep."  
  
"I just got a strange feeling. Please, can we go back, John?"  
  
He sighed. "Okay. But if nothing's wrong, we're turning back around."  
  
As soon as Abby got to County, she broke into a run for the ICU with Carter right behind her. She sprinted as fast as she could, knowing in her heart something was going on.  
  
When she reached Luka's room, it took her a while to yank open the door because of her fear. He has to live; she whispered to herself, he has to live. Finally getting it open, she raced in as his eyes started to flutter.  
  
"Luka," she murmured, taking his hand in hers, "Luka, squeeze by hand if you can hear me."  
  
To her surprise, he did squeeze her hand. And, in the minutes that followed, Abigail Lockhart couldn't believe her eyes.  
  
"I'm here, Luka. It's me, Abby. I'm here," she forced out, still to shocked and delighted to speak.  
  
His eyes finally opened and the seemed to glow from the sight of her. Luka's free hand went up to touch her cheek as he tried to say something.  
  
"Shh. Don't speak. Everything's gonna be alright," she soothed.  
  
He nodded, and pointed to his throat.  
  
"Do you want to take that out?"  
  
Again, he nodded.  
  
Quickly and quietly, she removed the tube and he tried to speak again. In his hushed accent, he whispered, "I have something to tell you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm in love with you, Abby."  
  
She leaned down towards him, gently kissed his lips. After what seemed like a fantastic eternity, they broke apart and only looked at each other. Abby knew that she had made the right decision; she loved Luka as a wife would love her husband. And, now she knew that she loved Carter more like a brother, a brother who was her best friend.  
  
Staring deep into Luka's brown eyes, she whispered, "I love you, too, Luka." 


	3. In the Wake/Carby Ending

In the Wake  
  
(Authors note! This is the carby ending. I couldn't figure out a way to make the Carbies happy without severely pissing off the Lubies. So, I'm making a carby ending and a Luby ending. Oh, and yes, there is a time lapse because if I had to make Abby actually deal with it, (you'll find out what "it" is) than the fic would go on forever. Enjoy and rock on!)  
  
Abby Lockhart ran her fingers over the coarse material of her cast and glanced up at Luka Kovac. The doctors had taken him off the ventilator only days earlier and nothing had happened. She knew he could survive, but there was still the chance he would not.  
  
She felt sorry for the times where she used him, lied to him, didn't love him. Inside, Abby didn't know what to feel. Part of her loved Carter and the other loved Luka. If Luka didn't live, she could always turn to Carter, but if he did live, then whom would she choose?  
  
"You okay?"  
  
Carter was standing behind her as Abby spun around, "Oh, I'm fine. Anything new on Luka?"  
  
"Nope. Are you sure you're okay? You look awful."  
  
"Maybe I should get some sleep."  
  
"I know. I'll take you home and you can sleep in one of the guest rooms. Tomorrow, I'll bring you back and I'm sure Luka' ll be fine."  
  
"Thanks, John."  
  
"Don't mention it."  
  
Driving home was both awkward and refreshing for John Carter. He loved Abby, and wanted to tell her how he felt, but it wasn't the right time.  
  
It never seemed to be the right time. When she helped him through AA meetings, he wanted to tell her, but she was with Luka. Even after they broke up, John couldn't tell her because she did love Luka.  
  
"Carter?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can we go back to the hospital?"  
  
"Abby, we're almost to my house. You need some sleep."  
  
"I just got a really bad feeling. Please, can we go back, John?"  
  
He sighed. "Okay. But if nothing's wrong, we're turning back around."  
  
As soon as Abby got to County, she broke into a run for the ICU with Carter right behind her. She sprinted as fast as she could, knowing in her heart, something was wrong. When she approached his room, she saw one of the nurses pull the dreaded white sheet over his head, and she knew, Luka was gone.  
  
When John finally caught up to her, he knew it, too. So all he did, was quietly, put his arm around her, and let her cry.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*Seven months later*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Abby, wearing her lavender nurse scrubs, looked at herself in the mirror at John's house. She had been staying there since Luka had died. The extravagance was a welcome change to what she had been used to, but it was still strange to be at the Carter Family Mansion.  
  
In the past seven months, Abby had been threw so much. Her mother visited again, but thanks to Carter, everything turned out alright and she didn't have another embarrassing episode. Luka had died, but thanks for Carter's willingness to help; she had stayed sober and gone to therapy. It seemed that, without Carter, nothing would have been right in her life. It was as if he enjoyed helping her.  
  
She enjoyed being around him. And, she was grateful for all of his help. Deep down, Abby knew he still had feelings for her and that she had feelings for him. What she didn't know was how to tell him about them.  
  
After a very messy trauma, Abby found Carter on the roof, smoking. It was rare for him to do so, but when he did, she knew something was wrong.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't know how much longer I can take it."  
  
"Being an ER doc?"  
  
"No. Being alone. Elizabeth had Mark, before he died. You had Luka, before he died. Dr. Weaver has someone. Almost all of the nurses have someone."  
  
"You have me."  
  
"What?"  
  
As he turned around, Abby firmly and passionately pressed her lips against his. Her warm lips tasted so sweet to him, as if this was the reward for his patience.  
  
By the time they started kissing, the entire Cook County ER staff had gathered in the doorway, watching the miracle unfold. It seemed so romantic to them, that only a few months earlier, a tragedy had happened to them both. But, in it's wake, a new beginning had started. 


End file.
